Jungle Jim’s: the Greatest Supermarket in America

Imagine waking up one day and thinking: “you know what, I’m not satisfied with the boring local supermarket.” “I want a market that has the most diverse selection of foods & beverages imaginable, including exotic foods from faraway lands, and I want the experience to be fun for the entire family.” I imagine that is what Jungle Jim thought when he got the idea for the Jungle Jim’s supermarkets in Fairfield and Cincinnati, Ohio.

Now imagine a food store as huge as a Walmart, featuring every type of food you can imagine (and some you cannot), decorated with gorillas, rhinos, real airplanes, 50′ dragons and 1960’s cultural icons. Imagine a Whole Foods + a Wegmans + a Trader Joe’s + a liquor store + a cigar store + Disney Land, and that is Jungle Jim’s.

Don’t believe me? Check these stats:

Five isles of hot sauce, with a real fire engine parked amongst it to get your attention.

Two or three long aisles of soda pop (they call it pop in Ohio).

A candy section as big as a house.

Isles and isles of craft, international, and big-brand beers, and wines.

Five or six isles of International foods.

Need candy shaped like a toilet from Japan? They got it.

Need Jelly Babies from England? They got it.

Need Licorice Cats from Holland because that is the old thing that cures your gout? They got it.

Need some “century eggs” or bird nest soup from China? They got it.

Need some lollipops with crickets or ants inside them? They got those.

Need a hookah pipe? They got those too.

Whenever I’m in the Cincinnati area I fill my entire car trunk with unusual foods, snacks, and pop from Jungle Jim’s. It makes the 10-hour trip all the more worthwhile.